T-Shaped Teams and the Three Stages of AI Adoption June 22, 2021 AI and data science will probably bring about the most significant changes to the financial services industry that the industry has witnessed in its short history. Yet, today, many financial institutions are still struggling to find their way to start the AI journey1. We propose a concept called T-shaped teams (See Exhibit 1) as the [...]
Exclusive: Meet the former UBS and JPMorgan heavyweights shaking up private banking May 28, 2021 As the economy is slowly switching into recovery gear, activity in the City and beyond is starting to pick up again. That is also the case for Vestrata, a relatively new fintech player that is taking the wealth management and private banking space by storm by bring machine learning and automated risk metrics into the [...]
Best of travel: Gorilla conservation in Uganda February 16, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s examination of gorilla conservation in Uganda ••• Standing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in south-western Uganda, I’m dodging a light hail of fruits being thrown down by gorillas in the trees above. The [...]
Activist investor Trian takes stakes in Invesco and Janus Henderson October 2, 2020 Activist investor Trian Fund Management has reportedly taken stakes in Invesco and Janus Henderson with plans to pursue further deals. Trian has built stakes in both Invesco and Janus enderson of 9.9 per cent, with the positions accounting for a combined $900m (£700m), according to the Wall Street Journal. The money reportedly comes from a [...]
The Gym Group swings to loss following coronavirus closures September 2, 2020 The Gym Group today posted a hefty loss for the first half of the year after the budget gym chain was forced to close all its branches due to the coronavirus outbreak. The figures The Gym Group posted revenue of £37.3m for the first six months of the year, down almost 50 per cent on [...]
Taylor Wimpey reinstates dividend as profit falls two-thirds March 2, 2021 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey today said that it would reinstate its dividend after a year in which profit before tax at the firm fell 68 per cent. Having cut its dividend when the coronavirus forced it into site closures in the second quarter, the FTSE 100 company said it would pay out a final dividend of [...]
UK GDP soars in second quarter as Covid unlocking turbo-charges economy : CityAM August 12, 2021 The burst in consumer spending triggered by the gradual lifting of Covid prevention measures in April and May boosted the UK economy in the second quarter, according to fresh official data released today. Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal the UK economy grew 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year, [...]
Taylor Wimpey swings to a loss in first half July 29, 2020 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey swung to a loss in the first half of the year after costs related to the coronavirus pandemic reached £39.2m. The figures The developer’s share price fell more than seven per cent this morning as it reported an operating loss of £16.1m, compared to a profit of £311.9m in 2019, and loss [...]
When will our lives begin? What I learned from 2020 — and from Disney’s Tangled December 31, 2020 Like so many people tasked with entertaining children over Christmas, I have spent the last week watching an inordinate amount of Disney. That is to be expected. What I did not expect was finding the ultimate lockdown song. I am talking of the opening number from Tangled, the 2010 version of Rapunzel, entitled “When will [...]
Housebuilder Barratt Developments defies Brexit jitters as profits climb September 4, 2019 Barratt Developments shrugged off concerns of a housing market slowdown today after reporting a rise in pre-tax profits for the year to June 2019. The figures Britain’s largest housebuilder, which has been reducing its exposure to Central London’s subdued property market, posted profits before tax of £910m in the 12 months to 30 June, rising [...]